When I state my position “A Case for Bilingual Education” I do not mean that every student designated as an ESL learner should be in bilingual education. To the contrary, I am making a case for those that are at the lowest rungs of English language acquisition – “those that cannot communicate in English.” Those whose primary language is dominant, those that have little if any English language communication skills. Can other students who have some skills benefit from bilingual education too; the answer is a resounding yes.
Historically, internationally and even in the United States, Primary Language Instruction has been the norm except when political forces have come into play. (Lessow-Hurley 2013, chapter 2, p24) Research has often reinforced the use of the primary language as a foundation which can be build upon and added to with the secondary language. Why can’t students be tested in their primary language to give us a baseline about their actual academic skill set?